Special Forces after West Point

Art.Perea

5-Year Member
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Nov 21, 2011
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I going to join special forces, hopefully Delta, and I was wondering if West Point can put you on that path immediately after graduation.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but my father, an ex-drill sergeant and Iraq war veteran, told me that to get into the Delta you have to go to Airborne school, Jump master school, Ranger school, Special Forces school (Green Berets), and then a selection process into Delta.

Also, how many years of experience is required before even being considered into SF school? For example, is it a school then a tour, then a school, or can you do multiple school at a time? Airborne to jump master to Ranger then a tour.
 
Short answer: no, you can't enter immediately.



Read these books, you'll love them and get quite an education at the same time:

Kill Bin Laden -Dalton Fury (fun fact: Dalton Fury is a pseudonym and the author chose that name not only for anonymity but also because "Dalton Fury" has the same initials as "Delta Force")
This book touches on Delta Force and what it takes to be selected, to make it, and be in it along with telling the story of when they almost got Bin Laden the first time.

Chosen Soldier -Dick Couch
This title is literally a step-by-step account of the Special Forces training pipeline from SFAS all the way through to getting the tab. It's a little dry, but it is also very informative.
 
And you don't have to do any of that for delta. You have to pass an iq test, fitness test, and selection board. they will give you what ever other training they need you to do. Plus their own operator course. Once again, there is a rank requirement
How I know this, I applied as enlisted, but didn't meet the rank requirements.
 
I going to join special forces, hopefully Delta, and I was wondering if West Point can put you on that path immediately after graduation.

You and everybody else. Except for USNA kids. They're all going to be SEALs.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but my father, an ex-drill sergeant and Iraq war veteran, told me that to get into the Delta you have to go to Airborne school, Jump master school, Ranger school, Special Forces school (Green Berets), and then a selection process into Delta.

No. You do not need to be Ranger qualified. You do not need to attend Airborne or JM or SFQC. You need to attend selection for CAG and be selected. The rest of the training you receive will be at the choice of the unit.

Also, how many years of experience is required before even being considered into SF school? For example, is it a school then a tour, then a school, or can you do multiple school at a time? Airborne to jump master to Ranger then a tour.

You must, as others have mentioned, be a 1LT promotable to be considered. Your opportunity to do so will depend upon whether you get a chance to apply for assessment. Their officer recruiting is infrequent and they have set criteria in terms of qualifications and experiences they seek with each recruitment, which is only known when the bulletin is published.

Focus on your real career: first, as a cadet. Graduation is not guaranteed and you need to be ready for the things that will happen in your first summer and first year long before you need to be ready for anything SOF related. Your next focus should be on your career as an officer in the conventional Army. That is the career you are preparing for, and SOF maybe be an additional career you may have the chance to pursue.
 
You and everybody else. Except for USNA kids. They're all going to be SEALS.



I realize everyone wants to be SF now, but this is something I have wanted since I was really little, before all the video games and publicity. My dream has always been to be an officer in SF whether it be WP, ROTC, or OCS.

And also thank you to everyone. You guys are a really helpful and I am deeply appreciative of it.
 
The main thing that you need to do is to choose a combat branch, graduate WP, go to your basic course and do great, and go to your first Army unit and be great. Then, when you are a senior 1st Lt apply for the part of the Special Operations community you want (Rangers, Special Forces, Delta etc). Until then, do not worry about your future assignments.
I found from many years in the Army - with many years in the Special Operations forces - that if you do your current job great it will open the doors to the next job.
 
I found from many years in the Army - with many years in the Special Operations forces - that if you do your current job great it will open the doors to the next job.

What SOF were you in?
 
What SOF were you in?

Such questions are usually better asked through private means.


I'm just a plebe right now and last year as a candidate I was hell bent on getting into special operations. In my mind I was thinking SF just like a lot of you are.

Here's the truth though: SF is a 300 meter target. It's a long way off. You've got a hell of a 5 meter target in front of you called Beast and it's not a cakewalk by any stretch. And after that you've got plebe year. Focus on being the best New Cadet and then plebe that you can be. Doors will open up at the academy like Special Forces CTLT and competitive schools like SFAS once you become an upperclassmen.

I started Beast thinking that I more or less knew all the answers. What I learned is that I didn't even know what questions to ask at that point. It will get better.
 
Such questions are usually better asked through private means.


I'm just a plebe right now and last year as a candidate I was hell bent on getting into special operations. In my mind I was thinking SF just like a lot of you are.

Here's the truth though: SF is a 300 meter target. It's a long way off. You've got a hell of a 5 meter target in front of you called Beast and it's not a cakewalk by any stretch. And after that you've got plebe year. Focus on being the best New Cadet and then plebe that you can be. Doors will open up at the academy like Special Forces CTLT and competitive schools like SFAS once you become an upperclassmen.

I started Beast thinking that I more or less knew all the answers. What I learned is that I didn't even know what questions to ask at that point. It will get better.

All true. But sometimes its good to keep the 300m target in mind as it is what might motivate you to get past the obstacle of the 5m target.
 
The OP's original post wasn't worded correctly. You do not join Special Forces. You do your best, and if they see enough that they like, they may SELECT you.
 
All true. But sometimes its good to keep the 300m target in mind as it is what might motivate you to get past the obstacle of the 5m target.
True, but if you don't have the slightest idea what life beyond that 300m target actually entails, who you actually, really DO beyond that 300m target, all the dreaming might serve as motivation now, but in the end, after getting a close look, the person might actually HATE doing it.

Take sniping. Who ever thinks about crawling for 24 hours, ten feet per hour, just to get to the hide, then lie there for 36 more hours, doing absolutely nothing but remaining still and scanning for an anomoly, pissing into the ground where you're lying, waiting for that ten second opportunity? Or no opportunity? 99.9% waiting, 0.1% trigger pulling. Some people hate lying motionless for hours upon days. They'd go nuts.
 
I wish all the young people about to start their time at the USMA or ROTC would come back after they branch just to see how many select what they started out wanting.

4 years ago my son joined ROTC with the intent of branching Infantry, going to Ranger School and working towards SF.

He figured out the best way to achieve that was to work hard and finish in the top 10% so he could hand pick his branch.

He did work hard and achieved that 10% and after t 3 years of ROTC, LDAC, CTLT with the 82nd Airborne it came time to pick his branch........

........He selected Aviation.

Funny how time has a way of changing goals.
 
You and everybody else. Except for USNA kids. They're all going to be SEALs.

:yllol: I laughed out loud here!





To the OP, may I inquire as to what reason would you like to join/get selected for the "Delta Force"? I was a little bummed out when my research yielded information that officers take a more administrative job instead of "hands-on" that the enlisted soldiers can get. I COULD be wrong about this, but I particularly picture myself (things can CHANGE, of course) doing a more action-oriented job rather than administrative (as an Officer, obviously. I don't expect to "go kicking down doors". I do want to tell my soldiers which door to kick... but I want to be there, seeing them do it hahaha!).
 
:yllol:
To the OP, may I inquire as to what reason would you like to join/get selected for the "Delta Force"?

Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but Delta has the toughest training in the army and does the highest classified missions. They are top of the line and I always set my goals as high as I can. Plain and simple, I want to be the best and I will do anything, inside my own morals, to get there.

Take sniping. Who ever thinks about crawling for 24 hours, ten feet per hour, just to get to the hide, then lie there for 36 more hours, doing absolutely nothing but remaining still and scanning for an anomoly, pissing into the ground where you're lying, waiting for that ten second opportunity? Or no opportunity? 99.9% waiting, 0.1% trigger pulling. Some people hate lying motionless for hours upon days. They'd go nuts.

It broke my heart when I found out that officers can not be snipers. I have always loved sniping. Even the 3 week crawls into the hide. Does anyone know why officers can't be snipers?
 
It broke my heart when I found out that officers can not be snipers. I have always loved sniping. Even the 3 week crawls into the hide. Does anyone know why officers can't be snipers?

Done a lot of sniping?

:rolleyes:
 
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but Delta has the toughest training in the army and does the highest classified missions. They are top of the line and I always set my goals as high as I can. Plain and simple, I want to be the best and I will do anything, inside my own morals, to get there.

alright. so they two units are TOTALLY different. their missions are completely on opposite sides of the spectrum.

i'm gonna go ahead and say get through west point, do as well as you can, get through your BOLC training, once again, show you're the best. and then once you get to the, what we call, the "real" army, see if you EVEN like doing it. get your promotable status as a 1LT. then start looking into these advanced things. when i joined, what i though SF and Delta were, turned out to be one far cry from what i thought. a few briefings from operators of each unit, and working with SF a few times during training, showed me the small nuances that you wont learn from reading what is available to the general public.

i'd go into more detail. but (not to be a jerk), the presentations i've been to were FOUO.

talk to me after you pass beast and i can tell you more things.
 
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but Delta has the toughest training in the army and does the highest classified missions. They are top of the line and I always set my goals as high as I can. Plain and simple, I want to be the best and I will do anything, inside my own morals, to get there.

What I'm saying is - IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN -, if you want to get into "action" (which I am assuming is what you want) as an Officer, PERHAPS the Green Berets might fit your desires better.
 
What I'm saying is - IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN -, if you want to get into "action" (which I am assuming is what you want) as an Officer, PERHAPS the Green Berets might fit your desires better.

I guess that all depends on what you call "action." It has been said on this forum many times that if you're looking to kick down doors and shoot bad guys in the face for a living then enlist.
 
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